Tomato Facts

Making your own compost is one of the best and cheapest ways to recycle unused household waste and create something useful in return. There are various ways to make your own compost so let's start with the basics -

What can I put in my Compost Bin

There are many things you can put into your compost bin. Here is just a small list:-

Shredded paper - newspaper & brownpaper is best as it's relatively untreated. Although if you shred your household papers (as we do) then composting them is an excellent way to dispose of the paper.
Loo rolls - these are great for adding bulk to the compost and break down readily.
Kitchen scraps - fruit and vegetables plus peelings, teabags, coffee grounds, eggshells
Garden waste - annual weeds, dry leaves, grass clippings, fruit and vegetables, straw, hay
Seaweed
Chicken droppings

What Not To Put In Your Compost Bin

No animal derivatives such as bread, meat (cooked or uncooked)
No cooked food such as vegetables, pasta
Soiled tissues
Excrement (except from chickens or ducks)
Perennial weeds such as bindweed or dandelion roots

The best way to build up your compost bin is in layers, so a layer of paper followed by a thin layer of grass clippings followed by some straw, and so on, building them up. If a layer is too thick such as a layer of grass clippings, it will become slimy and smelly because air will be unable to circulate freely.

Every 3 - 6 days it's a good idea to turn your compost over, thus ensuring that all of the waste has a chance to rot down evenly. Nowadays you can even get rotating or "tumling" compost bins which makes it really easy to turn over the compost with the minimum of effort.

Compact Compostumbler  - Large Capacity

Envirocycle Composter  - Smaller Capacity